Loki: Lover of Fidelity, Appendixes
by Refictionista
Summary: This is not a stand alone story or a sequel. Instead, these 'chapters' are supplements to my story, Loki: Lover of Fidelity... Though you may be interested in reading this if you are a nerd like me. Each chapter (i.e. appendix) was simply too long to include as a footnote at the bottom of the LLOF story chapters. You will find the link to Loki: Lover of Fidelity on my profile page.
1. Appendix A - Lecture on Asgardian Aging

**Author's Note**

**Attention: This is not a standalone story or a sequel. Instead, these 'chapters' are supplements to my story, _Loki: Lover of Fidelity_ (though you may be interested in reading what's below in its own right... if you are a nerd like me). Each appendix was simply too long to include as a footnote at the bottom of the chapter. You can find a link to _Loki: Lover of Fidelity_ on my profile page.**

**Yeah... Anywhooo... back to this particular appendix. While doing research to determine an appropriate age for my OC, I came across fyeahlokisif's tumblr post on Loki's age (where it was claimed that Loki is 1048 years old, which I dispute, see below). I took what was discussed in that post and ran with it like scalded cheetah. Below is basically that same post, but paraphrased and interspersed with my own commentary and (what I consider to be more accurate) assumptions/conclusions. You can find links for all of this on my tumblr page (see my profile as well to find a link for that web address).**

****Numbers in [brackets] denote footnotes, which you can find at the bottom of this chapter/appendix. **Nothing from the Marvel universe is mine.**

**~ Refictionista, October 7, 2014**

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§ **Appendix A **§  
lecture on Asgardian aging

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_§ See chapter 15 of Loki: Lover of Fidelity (Chapter XIV: he's a cold-hearted snake)_

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In the Marvel comic universe, the Æsir gods (otherwise known as Asgardians) are gifted with extremely long life, but are not immortal like the gods of Olympus. In _Thor: The Dark World_ the life expectancy of an Asgardian was stated to be around 5,000 years. We are going to assume that the life expectancy of the Jötunn (Loki's race) and Asgardians is the same.

The average life expectancy of humans ranges wildly based on geographic location and income. The sovereign city-state of Monaco has the highest life expectancy of any country here on earth, at 87 years.[1] We are going to assume that the royal Asgardians would live comparatively as long as the people of Monaco. I make no assumptions on the life spans of the average Asgardian commoner.

On my tumblr page, you will see the only two good pictures I could find online of Loki as a baby from the movie _Thor_. We are going to assume that the age of the actor baby correlates with the age of baby Loki at the time Odin found him.

Unfortunately, I know absolutely nothing about babies.

This did not deter me.

I asked one of my coworkers, a mother, to tell me what she thought the age of this baby was approximately. Her response: "_5 months. Best guess._" I was so excited when she gave me this information, as it was the last piece of the puzzle I created (involving spreadsheets, mind you) to refine the "logic and shit" from fyeahlokisif's tumblr post.

So anyway, based on my coworker's best guess, I deduce that the baby in the movie is about 24 human years old.

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Supporting calculations:

Where "X" is the age measured in human terms of baby Loki (_it may help to write these formulas out as mathematical equations)_:

X divided by 5000 years equals 5 months divided by 87 years

Therefore:

X is equal to (5 months multiplied by (1 year divided by 12 months)) divided by 87 years

X is equal to 23.95 years

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According to the captions at the beginning of _Thor_, the battle between the Jötunn and Asgardians take place in Norway, 965 AD. With the calculation from above that baby Loki was 24 years old at the time of that battle, we will now assume that Loki was born about 941 AD (965 minus 24 equals 941). Oddly, Loki's birth was not listed on the Wikipedia page for the year 941... how dreadfully dismissive... no wonder Loki has issues about being overlooked.

So anyway, take 2014 (the current year at the time of my story) and subtract 941... what do you get?

Da Dunt da Da... Loki is 1073 years old, as measured by the Gregorian calendar.

Therefore, converted into human years, Loki is **18** (almost 19) years old.

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Supporting calculations:

Where "X" is the corresponding Asgardian age in human terms of movie Loki (_again, it may help to write this formula out as a mathematical equation)_:

X divided by 87 years equals 1073 years divided by 5000 years

Therefore:

X is equal to (87 years multiplied by 1073 years) divided by 5000 years

X is equal to **18.67** years

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Well now... Now that we have determined that Loki is **18**, how old is Thor?

We can assume Thor is roughly Loki's age, but we know he's the older brother. We can also assume he was young enough to not understand that Loki was adopted when Odin brought him to Asgard, so I'm going to say he's about **19 to 21** in human terms, roughly 1092-1206 in earth years.

According to the original tumblr post, someone remembered an interview from 2011 where Branagh/the actors came right out and said, "Yeah, they may seem all grown up to us, but to Asgardian standards **they're still basically teenagers**". You now see how that makes sense, right?

Because why else would Odin have argued to Laufey that Thor was just a boy and his stupid mistakes shouldn't be given the same weight as a grown man's?

Also, who other than an idiotic teenage boy wouldn't call his girlfriend when he was back on earth? Seriously, Thor took time out to chill out and eat a swarma with the guys (and Natasha) after the battle of New York, but he couldn't be bothered to call Jane Foster before he went back to Asgard? Let alone use Mjölnir to fly to Traunsee (where Fury stashed her) and see her. Interesting tidbit, I found out that Traunsee is a lake in the Salzkammergut, Austria. Anyway... Yeah, Jane slapped him twice in _Thor: The Dark World_, both times deservedly... and I'm not even one of her fans. Unfortunately, what Jane just doesn't realize is that she needs to lower her expectations when dating someone immature. She most likely doesn't realize that he's "just a boy" as she is blinded by the fact that he's "all muscly and everything" and let's face it, a god. The poor foolish woman is under the delusion/misinterpretation that Thor is this thousand plus year old adult.

So yeah... In conclusion, Loki and Thor are teenagers. Hence the ambiguous age of my OC, Sydney, in _Loki: Lover of Fidelity_.

And that, my friends, has been your nightly lecture on Asgardian aging. Good night! [mic drop]

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§

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[1] **See the Wikipedia entry on List of countries by life expectancy.**


	2. Appendix B - Vikings and Homosexuality

**Author's Note**

**This appendix explains the meaning behind a word used in my story:**

_"Tell me now, worthless **rassragr**. Did you touch one hair on her head?" she hissed._

**The ****coarse language and discussion on adult themes in this 'chapter' have changed the rating of this 'story' from K+ to M.  
**

**Numbers in [brackets] denote footnotes, which you can find at the bottom of this chapter/appendix. Nothing from the Marvel universe is mine.**

**~ Refictionista, January 15, 2015  
**

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§ **Appendix B **§  
vikings and homosexuality

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_§ See chapter 25 of Loki: Lover of Fidelity (Chapter XXIV: the past will come to haunt you)_

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I first became aware of the word 'rassragr' after watching an L episode of _QI_. You can find a link to a video of this segment on my tumblr page. The host of _QI_, Stephen Fry, mentioned this word, but then he told the audience that he wasn't allowed to explain it.

LOL… but I will!

In Old Norse, ragr (the adjective form of ergi) means "willing or inclined to play or interested in playing the female part in sexual relations with another man, unmanly, effeminate, and/or cowardly."

So therefore… rassragr means "ass-ragr" (or I guess "arse-ragr" if you're British).

Basically, it would be calling someone a homosexual. I guess a modern way to say it would be to call someone a faggot.[2]

There is ample documentation of homosexuality in insults. Judging by the literature, the Vikings were the "rednecks" of medieval Europe... if you went into the mead hall and called a man a faggot, he'd do the same thing that any good ol' boy at a Texas cowboy bar would do. The end result would be a big axe in your head instead of a big cowboy boot in your face, but the idea is the same.

The episode of _QI_ that I mentioned earlier explained how some sorts of insults were not just "fightin' words" but were even _killing_ words. Scandinavian law codes made certain types of insults illegal, and either condoned the victim's slaying of the slanderer or penalized the utterance of insults with outlawry! It is funny that in the Lokasenna, Loki insulted the Norse gods using some of these fightin' words.

My research into homosexuality in the Viking Age shows clearly that the Vikings had words (and therefore mental constructs and concepts) of same-sex activity; however since the needs of agricultural/pastoral living require reproduction not only to work the farm but also to provide support for the parent in old age, it was expected that, no matter what one's affectional preferences were, each individual would marry and reproduce. There are no recorded instances of homosexual or lesbian couples in the Viking Age: moreover, the idea of living as an exclusively homosexual person did not exist in most cultures until present day Western civilization appeared.

Now (and this is where it gets interesting) homosexuality was not regarded by the Viking peoples as being evil, perverted, innately against the laws of nature… or any of the other baggage about the concept that (mainly) Christian belief has provided Western culture. One's sexual partners mattered little so long as one married, had children, and conformed at least on the surface to societal norms so as not to disturb the community. Rather, it was felt that a man who subjected himself to another in sexual affairs would do the same in other areas, being a follower rather than a leader, and allowing others to do his thinking or fighting for him. It is interesting that the evidence of the sagas and laws shows that male homosexuality was regarded in two lights: there was nothing at all strange or shameful about a man having intercourse with another man if he was in the active or 'manly' role, however the passive partner in homosexual intercourse was regarded with derision.

Thus, homosexual sex was not what was condemned, but rather the failure to stand for one's self and make one's own decisions, to fight one's own fights, which went directly against the Nordic ethic of self-reliance. Being used homosexually by another man was equated with cowardice because of the custom of sexual aggression against vanquished foes.

FYI, Stephen Fry is gay, so obviously he wouldn't like this.

Another aspect to the question of homosexuality is the fact that certain gods apparently indulged in homosexual, "unmanly" or "questionable" practices. Loki's shapeshifting into the form of a mare may have resulted in the best of horses, Odin's mount Sleipnir, but the implication of (at best) bisexuality was an inescapable slur on Loki's reputation ever after. Odin himself, the All-father and King of the Gods, was justly accused of ergi or unmanliness because of his practice of seidhr, or women's magic, as learned from the goddess Freyja.

What it is about seidhr that made it "unmanly" for a man to practice the art? It could be anything from the idea of cowardice as a result of being able to harm your enemies through magic rather than in open battle, to overt sexual rituals involving the seidhr-practitioner as the passive sexual partner, or even as the passive homosexual partner.

You can see why Loki is given such a hard time in the comics (and movies) for using magic.

Poor Loki.

Think that's interesting? How about this:

_rassragr_ (Old Norse)  
_rasshøl_ (Norwegian)  
_asshole_/_arsehole_ (English)

Sigh... I am amused _way _ too easily by all of this.

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[2] **In no way do I condone the use of this word flippantly. I merely use it to explain and define my explaination.**


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